9 Ideas to Improve the Look and Feel of Your Home’s Exterior
Curb appeal is something that buyers look for when searching for a house on the market. While not the only consideration, how your home looks from the outside certainly gives a powerful impression.
But even if you’re not putting your property up for sale, having a beautiful exterior for your home is still a good thing to consider. No one wants to go home to a house they don’t want to look at. If you have some time on your hands and some money to spare, here are nine simple ideas that you can do to improve your home’s exterior.
Upgrade Your Front Door
Front doors serve as the entrance to your home. It’s the first thing that a guest sees when they walk toward your house. Your door should fit the style of your home so that it won’t look out of place. But sometimes, you don’t even need to buy a new one; simply replacing the hardware on the door or giving it a fresh coat of paint makes all the difference. A good rule of thumb is that contrasting elements work well together, like black hardware on a white door or brass hardware on a black one.
Renovate Your Deck
One advantage of having a deck is that it allows you to lounge outdoors or have a place to entertain your guests and friends. You can find decks on the upper floors overlooking the street or directly upfront in older homes.
The obvious upgrade you can make here is to overhaul the furniture by replacing the upholstery or swapping them with new ones. Railings are also something that many often overlook since they blend well with the scenery, but it’s necessary to check their condition every few years. If your railings are loose or falling apart, you can replace them with modular railing systems for an easy and cost-effective installation.
Add Life with Plants and Flowers
When the pandemic hit, everyone was forced to stay at home, which caused a sudden spike in interest in home gardening. This comes as no surprise since having plants and flowers at home can positively affect mood and ambiance. You don’t need to put up a full-scale garden on your front lawn. Strategically placing potted or hanging plants at the front of your house, such as near entryways or windows, will do the trick.
If you have an entire lawn and garden, consider building an automatic sprinkler system to save water and make taking care of your plants easier. Consider installing a Hunter Pro-C irrigation controller for a more efficient and cost-effective system.
Pave your Patios
Spruce up your patio with charming pavers. A concrete patio is undeniably durable, but the result is a drab-looking and less-inviting outdoor space. In redoing your patio, there are several options in the market that you can look into.
Installing pavers is one such option. Pavers come in various shapes and colors, so you need not worry about finding a design that will perfectly fit your home. While it is not cheap compared to just having a concrete patio, it is leagues more appealing and can increase the curb value of your property.
Consider Adding Lighting Fixtures
Having a well-lit home at night will improve the ambiance and increase security, not a bad investment if you ask anyone. You may consult professionals to advise you on which kind of lights will work well with your house.
Soft lights are great to highlight architectural features, ground lights to draw attention to trees or tall structures, and porch lights for an inviting glow at your front door. Don’t forget your house’s number sign. Having this lit will help your guests and visitors easily locate your residence at night.
Choose the Right Roofing
There used to be no variety for asphalt shingles making for a flat rooftop. Nowadays, you’ve got designs of all shapes, colors, and textures. But upgrading your roof is an expensive undertaking so take time to think this through. Practicality comes first, but that doesn’t mean that you should skip on aesthetic appeal. Once you’ve narrowed your options, choose which works best with your home’s design.
De-emphasize the Garage Door
The garage door often sticks out from the rest of the house, especially when it’s large and located at the front. One simple way to draw attention away from your garage door is to paint it a color that matches the house. It’s easy to do, and your only expense is the cost of paint if you opt to do it yourself. Another option is to replace the garage door entirely with panels that fit more closely with the color and style of your home’s exterior.
Hide Electrical Fixtures
Nothing ruins the look and feel of your home’s exterior more than unnecessary wires and other electrical fixtures. These are necessary elements to keep your house functioning but are not always desirable to look at. A quick fix is simply camouflaging them with the rest of the house by painting them over with a matching color. In the case of an electrical box, you can build a wooden casing to enclose it and hide it from view.
Opt for a Darker Coat of Paint
Structures with darker colors appear sturdier and more premium to many. Of course, this has no structural basis whatsoever but is more a matter of perception, marketing, and color theory. This is often the case in North America, where black or any other dark coat of paint gives the impression that a house is heavier, making it more grounded. It’s not necessary to paint your entire house black; adding dark elements is already enough.
Whether it’s an old house in the suburbs needing a little sprucing up or a streamlined townhouse you’d like to add some life and personality to, improving how your home looks on the outside can be tricky. There’s no hard and fast rule on how to go about it. You have to strike a delicate balance between functionality, cost, and design. You don’t want to overwhelm your home’s exterior with unnecessary elements that are utterly alien to its original design. At the end of the day, what matters more is that the improvement makes you happy.
